Owl, Owl, Owl!

If you’ve ever stepped foot in an Afternoon location, you can probably tell we have a thing for owls. We’ve always been fond with the wisest of birds, and the new owly kitchen items from TAG have pushed that fondness to outright obsession! Come check out the new wide-eyed salt and pepper shakers, adorably sculpted mugs, and the patchwork kitchen towel that is so cute you won’t want to use it…you’ll want to frame it! But hurry--we’ve only had these little hooties for a few days and they’re already flying off the shelves!

It's Not Easy Being Queen

Every little girl wants to be a princess and every tired, overworked woman wishes she were a queen, but royalty isn’t all toy poodles and bon bons…it’s a dangerous profession! Doomed Queens: Royal Women Who Met Bad Ends From Cleopatra to Lady Di is the fascinating true story of some of the most famous and infamous female rulers of history…and how they were eventually beheaded, imprisoned, starved, burned at the stake, etc. Pair it with our Henry VIII Disappearing Wives Mug (Henry has a disproportionate number of chapters in Doomed Queens devoted to his marriages) and you have the start of a great gift basket! Great for history buffs, gore enthusiasts, or anyone who really want to see the rich and powerful get what’s coming to ‘em, this is a great book and an awesome summer read.

Going For Baroque

Calling all Rachmaninoffs! Pull up a chair and get ready to rhapsodize with our beautiful new table top decor!!! What could be more perfect for your friend the Mozart enthusiast than this stunning little piano? Or what about a sparkly pink chair for your diva roommate? (We love the pink baroque frame, too, and so will your fashionista friends!!) This collection also contains a sparkly silver chair and side table! Come on over to Mall of America for a shot a whimsy - oh, and wouldn't that little chandelier be PERFECT for your desk? Yes - it actually lights up!!!

Working It

Fussy eaters will be left in the dust with the silverwear and dishes from Constructive Eating, the dining set that encourages kids to play with their food! The spoon and fork look like tractors and they make a matching yellow “bulldozer” that helps kids shovel food onto their spoon. To further the fun and functionality, Constructive Eating has started to make plates as well--full of “roads” and “ramps” to help get food onto forks and into mouths! And don’t worry mom and dad--it IS dishwasher AND microwave safe. Now, the packaging says “Age span for usage varies for each child”….so does that mean I can get a set for myself?

Cry 'Wulf

The summer heat has The Afternoon thinking of long afternoons on the beach with an umbrella laden drink and a great beach read. In the past we’ve turned to trashy romance novels and cheap-shot chick lit for our waterside reading, but a new book we just got in the store may change all that. Beowulf on the Beach is a literature guide to all the books you may have avoided in the past for being too intellectual, heavy, or (dare I say) even boring. The author, Jack Murnighan, wants you to give these books a second chance and see that these are classics for a reason, and not because of their extensive descriptions of fields of wheat. Murnighan gives you the lowdown on each book, telling you Quirky Facts, the Best Line, and even What’s Sexy (yes there are sexy scenes in The Sound and the Fury and Ulysses), to try to find the best book for you. There is even a What to Skip section, telling you pages, chapters, even scenes in Shakespeare’s plays that are redundant, boring, or just not worth your precious summer time. If you’ve found it hard to get into literature in the past, or you’re tired of being judged for your shallow taste in books, pick up Beowulf on the Beach and get ready to wear out your library card.

Black & White

Black and white are among our favorite color combinations here at Mall of America. It's easy to see why when you look at a collective as exquisite as this (and yes, we're a little partial to anything that can showcase our love of Edward Gorey)!! But consider, if you will, our fabulous new spider plates! Yes, we thought of Halloween, too, for a moment, but then we remembered that spiders need not invoke the willies necessarily, but instead a kind of whimsy one can only find at The Afternoon!

Do the Slide

Look at a menu in any major restaurant and you will see that sliders are the next big thing! These tiny hamburgers allow dieters to limit themselves to one or two and those of us with less restraint to enjoy four, six, ten…But don’t limit these tiny treats to just when you go out! The Norpro Mini Burger Press allows you to shape six uniform, two ounce patties at a time quickly and easily! They’ll cook evenly and you know they won’t be too big for the tiny buns! Cook some up for the kids (all children love tiny foods--it makes them feel like giants)! Use it with that veggie burger recipe you’re not sure about to test it on a smaller scale! Or even better--have a slider party!! Fire up the grill, make burgers using different meat and flavor combinations (beef and bleu cheese, ground turkey and sundried tomato, asian ginger pork) and the size lets people try them all without waste! Come into The Afternoon in Omaha and get this new summer staple today!

Dental Art Bad; Papaya Good!

There's nothing like a trip to the dentist's office to make you realize how much bad art is out there. Unimaginative landscapes, uninspired still lifes and floral motifs, dreary portraits - just file these under "M" for mundane!! Thank goodness there's Papaya to save your walls (and your minds) from dying of boredom! Their gorgeous stretched canvas giclees will brighten up any dull beige walls with beautiful, unexpected images, and absolutely divine color palettes. We're thrilled to say that we sell a ton of these, which suggests that everyone IS fed up with those blah pastel watercolors and might just be ready liven up their living spaces!!!

Father Knows Popsicles

It's always a little scary when Dad is left alone to feed dinner to the kids. Not that Dad can't cook; not that Dad won't be concerned about nutrition; it's just that, in our home, Dad is easily corrupted. Especially with regard to dessert. So when Dad n Da Boyz were finished with their gourmet fare of chicken tenders, broccoli and gatorade on a recent summer repast sans Mom, Da Boyz thought they had it made. What could they entice Dad to serve up this time: Ice Cream? Brownies? Cherry Pie (the yummy kind, not the jewelry)? Baked Alaska (once you've eaten it you can see Russia from your house...)? But no; Dad was prepared this time, and offered instead some Tovolo Freezer Gem Popsicle treats in delicious and (relatively) healthy frozen fruit juice and frozen yogurt varieties. Easy to make: Just fill the individual molds with your liquid of choice (fruit juice, flavored water, yogurt - even mix and match!), attach the finger grip, place in the convenient tray and then into the freezer. The results are delicious and in small, manageable servings just perfect for little ones (and big ones watching the waistline). Oh what clever one that Dad is (a good thing to remember on a certain day of celebration in June)!

Even Spinoza Would Love a Crumb Vacuum

For the past couple of months I have been searching for a small cleaning tool that will assist in cleaning up the crumbs off of my kitchen counter and breakfast room table. Cooking for a large family has the tendency to create miscellaneous messes and I was tired of having to wipe down the counter and table multiple times with a sponge or wet rag--they only seemed to move the crumbs around or smear them everywhere rather than picking them up. Then one day, as I was perusing through our kitchen section, I came across the Crumb Vacuum by Trudeau. I immediately had to take it home and try it. The small vacuum operates on AA batteries and is small enough to sit in my hand so it takes up very little space. The one touch button makes operation very easy and the nylon bristles are strong enough to sweep crumbs up into the receptacle without scratching glass or granite surfaces. Once the vacuum is full, the base pops off and can easily be dumped before the next round of cleaning. A must have for people who enjoy cooking or eating but don’t like to waste a lot of time cleaning up!

If I Had a Hammer

My favorite thing about our new beer hammer is its many uses. Yes, it can be a bottle opener, and an ice crusher, but these are only the most obvious functions. I like to think of this handy little tool as a stress reliever (as in taking out one's rage on an unfortunate band of ice cubes), and a lovely little assistant (as in I don't know where my husband put the hammer, so I'll just borrow this from the bar to hang a picture!). And, not that I would condone such an act, this would also be the perfect guard against anyone trying to take a sip of your beer (a little tap on the toe would set straight any would-be burglars!).

Dripstiks

The Afternoon in Omaha just started carrying Dripstiks, and I am inexplicably excited. I don’t have children (or nieces or nephews), but I think this is the coolest idea ever! The concept behind the Dripstik is simple: give a kid an ice cream cone or popsicle, and it will drip. Give him a Dripstik, and it won’t drip on his shirt. Each Dripstik is two-sided--one side designed to hold ice cream cones of various sizes and the other to hold frozen treats on sticks. Each side has a lip to contain spillage, and both are balanced to rest squarely on countertops. Dripstiks come in a variety of colors--from pink to purple to orange to blue--and have easy-hold centers for child-sized hands. I’m jealous--why were these not around when I was a kid?

Fanfare For Your Fortunate Feline

Are you a cat person? Not sure? Some of the classic signs include talking to your cat as though they were a person, having 3 or more, and hanging photos of your feline friends up at work (wait - I'm describing myself....). If this sounds like you then our Music for Cats CD is an absolute must! If you've ever wondered what Socks is up to when you're away (not that you won't find out when you get back to find your plants turned over), then you're the kind of person who would buy a cd for your cat to enjoy!!!! There is no shame in this - you're amongst friends and fellow cat lovers here at The Afternoon! The only thing we can't guarantee is that your cat won't still pretend you don't exist (except, mysteriously around dinner time when suddenly Fluffy wants to be your best friend!).

The Sporting Life

For months now, I’ve been wanting a Magic Bullet, an As Seen on TV product that eliminates glass blending containers, blending smoothies directly into sippable mugs. It’s an interesting idea, and one for awhile there I thought could not be improved upon. But Zyliss, with its new blender-friendly sports bottle, has proven me wrong. The Zyliss Sports Bottle's durable, graduated base fits most blenders for an instant smoothie or protein shake to go. Prefer your shakes actually shaken? Simply add the plastic strainer, screw on the leak-proof spout, and shake away---no hassle, no mess, and no additional clean-up. It’s the perfect bottle for bikers, rock-climbers, and other sports enthusiasts: clip the easy carry handle to your backpack, and you’re ready for anything!

Climb High, Climb Far...

Sometimes an item I see at The Afternoon just brightens my day. The man climbing a wall sculpture is one such item. He is so unusual and so mysterious. What a conversation piece for my next party!

Classic Rock...Hudson, and Others

One of my favorite pastimes is to hang out with my husband and watch Turner Classic Movies. We can't wait to get home and find out what Robert Osbourne has in store for us! Will it be a Hitchcock thriller? A little crime noir with (my favorite) Orson Welles? A night of adventure with John Wayne? A couple of cocktails with Cary Grant? The suspense is endless! And when we're not able to get our TCM fix we can turn to one of our favorite books, featuring all of our friends from the movies we love so much. (Plus it gives me a chance to oogle at the ever so dreamy Gary Cooper!) Also - you need to check out "Leading Ladies" - featuring the steamy likes of Lana Turner, Jean Harlow, and Greta Garbo. If you're ever at the mall and are craving at little movie magic, skip the theatre and check out some of our favorite "Leading Men"!

Quoth the Raven Maven

I really can't say enough about our stunning collection of Pick Up Sticks jewelry! This one is my absolute favorite (though the Cherry Pi is a very close second), and will soon be the adornment of preference for all fans of Poe and his famous raven. The flip side features the classic fleur de lis, an image that was absolutely EVERYWHERE at the Dallas Gift Market which I just attended. Also - my birthday is coming up (hint, hint!); was it a coincidence that I just sent one of these to Omaha? Head on over to an Afternoon near you to grab one of these beauties (before I guilt someone into buying it for me!)!